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Revision (IV) Homework

This document discusses different types of antonyms and ambiguity. It defines binary antonyms as word pairs where the negative of one term entails the other. It also discusses gradable antonyms where terms have a scale, and converses where terms have a reciprocal relationship. Lexical ambiguity refers to a single word having multiple meanings, while structural ambiguity occurs when a sentence structure allows multiple interpretations. Examples of each type of antonym, ambiguity, and ambiguous/unambiguous sentences are provided.

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Kristina Vujicic
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103 views

Revision (IV) Homework

This document discusses different types of antonyms and ambiguity. It defines binary antonyms as word pairs where the negative of one term entails the other. It also discusses gradable antonyms where terms have a scale, and converses where terms have a reciprocal relationship. Lexical ambiguity refers to a single word having multiple meanings, while structural ambiguity occurs when a sentence structure allows multiple interpretations. Examples of each type of antonym, ambiguity, and ambiguous/unambiguous sentences are provided.

Uploaded by

Kristina Vujicic
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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REVISION (IV)

KEYWORD SUMMARY

binary antonyms/converses/reverses/multiple incompatibles/gradable


antonyms/contradictoriness/ambiguity/lexical ambiguity/structural
ambiguity/homonymy/polysemy

1. Be sure you understand why oppositeness of meaning is not as simple as it sounds.


Try to restate the issue in your own words. What seems to be necessary in order for
two words to be classed as antonyms of any type?- Typically, antonyms come in pairs
of two words that have opposite meanings. Some examples of pairs of antonyms
include: hot and cold. near and far.

2. A test for binary antonyms is that the negative of one term must be equivalent to (or
entail) the other: thus, dead and alive are binary antonyms because if something is not
dead then it must be alive. Use this test to determine which of the following pairs of
predicates are binary antonyms. If some (or all) are uncertain, identify and explain
them.
a wood/metal - no e.happy/sad -yes
b big/small -yes f give/receive -yes
c awake/asleep -yes g present/absent -yes
d honest/dishonest yes h in/out -yes

3. Binary antonyms can be thought of as incompatible terms which are members of two-
term sets. This notion can be extended to other groups of words which are not so
much opposites as they are incompatible members of a larger (multiple-term)
semantic system (or semantic field), such as the days of the week, the seasons of the
year, etc. Note that the members of such larger sets are co-hyponyms and that the
term which refers to the field itself is a superordinate term. Think of a few additional
such systems of multiple incompatibility.

4. Identify the type of antonymy or incompatibility (binary, gradable, converses, or


multiple incompatibles) for each pair of words below.
a high/low -binary f legal/illegal -binary
b punch/slap multiple incompatibles g lessor/lessee -converses
c husband/wife converses h expensive/cheap -binary
d higher/lower gradable i table/chair - multiple incompatibles
e pregnant/not pregnant -binary j parent/offspring - converses
5. Explain the difference between a contradiction (a sense property of a sentence) and
contradictoriness (a sense relation between sentences). - A sentence expressing one
proposition is a contrary of a sentence expressing another proposition if it is
impossible for both propositions to be true at the same time and of the same
circumstances. Alternatively (and equivalently) a sentence contradicts another
sentence if it entails the negation of the other sentence

6. Which of the following pairs of sentences are contradictories?


a Max baked the cake / The cake was baked by Max -no
b Max is Sam’s father / Max is Sam’s child - yes
c This class begins at 9:45 a.m. / This class begins at 8:45 p.m. -yes
d Jane died / Jane is still alive - yes

7. Disambiguate the following ambiguous sentences by supplying paraphrases which are


not themselves paraphrases of each other.
a Climbing plants can look strange
i. Plants that climb (grow) up walls can look strange.
ii. People who climb plants can look strange.
b Jane waited by the bank
i. Jane waited by the financial institution.
ii. Jane waited at the side of the river.
c They are moving sidewalks
i. People are moving sidewalks from one place to another.
ii. Those sidewalks are motorized so they can move.
d The English history teacher knows a lot
i. The teacher who teaches English history knows a lot.
ii. The history teacher from England knows a lot.
e The minister married my sister
i. The minister got married to my sister.
ii. The minister performed my sister's wedding ceremony.
f She’s selling synthetic buffalo hides
i. She's selling hides made from synthetic buffalo.
ii. She's selling buffalo hides that are synthetic.
g The long drill was boring
i. The long exercise was boring.
ii. The long drilling tool was boring into wood or metal.
h The boy saw the man with a telescope
i. The boy saw the man who had a telescope.
ii. The boy with a telescope saw the man.
i He gave me a punch
i. He gave me something to drink.
ii. He hit me.
j The grass was very expensive
i. The lawn was very expensive.
ii. The marijuana was very expensive.

8. Identify which sentences in exercise 7 above are examples of structural ambiguity and
which are examples of lexical ambiguity.
Structural ambiguity: a, c, d, f, g, h
Lexical ambiguity: 10b, e, i, j

9. For each polysemous word below identify several common senses and try to show
how they are related to each other.
a iron (metal, chemical element)
b conductor (a person who directs an orchestra, a pers.who collects fares)
g flight (fly) – (an act or instance of passing through the air or the ability to fly)
c eye (each of a pair of globular organs or a thing resembling an eye in appearance)
h go (move from one place to another or leave)
d face (the front part of a person's head or the surface of a thing)
i hand (the end part of a person's arm or a pointer on a clock)
e foot (the lower extremity of the leg or a projecting part on which a piece of furniture
or each of its legs stands)

10. Give an example of a sentence containing one or more ambiguous words


a that is unambiguous
b that is ambiguous. – Jake saw a duck

11. Give an example of a sentence containing NO ambiguous words


a that is unambiguous
b that is ambiguous.

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